At the end of this month I will be attending a Search Engine marketing workshop in Seattle. I am very excited about this, not just because this will be my first trip to Seattle, but that I will be learning more about something that will help both my clients and I. In honor of this trip I thought I would write a little about why we need marketing for our web sites.

Enjoy!
Kim Adams, President, Tiger Studios, Inc.

I am often called upon to design and develop web sites, but over the last year I have focused more on what happens after the site goes "live". Unfortunately, just because you build it does not mean anyone will be able to find your web site.

Marketing of a web site is an ongoing campaign, just like it is for other aspects of your business. There are 2 types of marketing for the web: natural and paid. Paid is the Pay-Per-Click option that Google and Overture offer. This is great if you want instant gratification of traffic coming to your site but not the best solution in the long run.

I like to focus on the natural, and free, methods of marketing a web site. Using descriptive meta tags and title tags along with adjusting content to reflect keywords and links to other pages within the site, you can come up with a very effective marketing campaign for your web site.

Some items of note when choosing a Search Engine marketer, don't choose the person who can guarantee your site will be on the first page. There is no guarantee in marketing, especially for high level keywords like web design, renewable energy, soccer, marketing, etc. Also, do not use a marketer who uses underhanded methods to trick the search engines. This includes invisible text or using competitors names as keywords. Instead of helping your business it could hurt it by having the search engines block your web site.

Q: Why do I need content on the home page?
A: Home pages need to have some content and keywords in them for better search engine rankings. A fully Flash animated home page will stop your site from being ranked, thus no traffic or business, because the search engine has no content to search through or links to connect to other pages within the site. Leave Flash only sites to Intranet or password protected sites.

Do you have a question that relates to the graphic design or web design field? How about working with freelancers or sub contractors? Send your question to Tiger Studios. Your question might show up in next month's issue!

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A Little About Tiger Studios
Tiger Studios can help you with all aspects of your web site. We are proud of our professional and creative attitudes and proven customer service records. With over eight years of experience in graphic design, dynamic and static content, search engine optimization, e-commerce, and corporate branding, Tiger Studios is an excellent choice for one stop shopping of Web services.

To learn more about Tiger Studios and our services, go to our web site www.Tiger-Studios.com or contact Kim Adams at newsletter@Tiger-Studios.com for an estimate on your next print or web site project.